Open Road Integrated Media has launched a podcast, “Open Book,” hosted by CEO and National Book Foundation board chair David Steinberger. The podcast repurposes lunchtime conversations that Open Road has been holding for employees at their offices. The first two episodes feature Grove Atlantic publisher Morgan Entrekin and former Pantheon publisher Lisa Lucas, and future guests will include Macmillan CEO Jonathan Yaged, Penguin Publishing Group president Allison Dobson, Authors Equity CEO Madeline McIntosh, City Lights bookstore chief buyer Paul Yamazaki, 37ink publisher and former Bon Appetit editor-in-chief Dawn Davis, literary agent and Writers House president Simon Lipskar, and writer Ted […]
Archives for July 2024
Adult and Children’s Fiction Grows in May
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) reported StatShot numbers for May, with trade sales of $716.8 million in adult and children’s books, up 16 percent over 2023. Adult sales grew 18 percent to $526.0 million, with $297.2 million in fiction (up 25 percent) and $228.8 in nonfiction (up 9 percent). Hardcovers were up 22 percent to $178.4 million (making up 34 percent of total sales in the category), paperbacks were up 20 percent to $184.3 million (35 percent of sales), ebooks sold $71.9 million (14 percent of sales), and digital audio sold $69.2 million (13 percent of sales). Children’s sales […]
Authors Talk: Mateo Askaripour
This Great Hemisphere (Dutton, July 9, 2024. Editor: Pilar Garcia-Brown. Agent: PJ Mark, Janklow & Nesbit.) New York Times-bestselling author Mateo Askaripour‘s was chosen as one of Entertainment Weekly’s “10 rising stars to make waves,” and his first novel, Black Buck, was a Read with Jenna Today Show book club pick. Most recently, he was named as a recipient of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” prize. This Great Hemisphere is his second novel. How did you find your agent? I found my first agent through scanning Publishers Marketplace and cold querying her. I’d received an offer from another agent, […]
People 7/17
Book Scouts Share the Financial–And Existential–Realities of Their Business
Book scouting might be seen as one of the more glamorous positions in publishing, but the job is more than gossipy lunches and international travel. Scouting is a rigorous job with ties to all aspects of the business, influenced as much by local book trends as the global economy. As part of our compensation series, we spoke to literary scouts about how the job works, where the money comes from, and why the segment is shrinking. Scouts are essentially consultants hired by foreign publishers and film/TV studios to help them acquire books for publication or adaptation. They trade in information, […]
Booktopia Owes Creditors $60 Million; Was Pushed Into Bankruptcy By Credit Card Processor
Booktopia’s bankruptcy administrator told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the retailer owes creditors approximately $60 million (AU). McGrathNicol’s Keith Crawford said, “The vast majority of that debt is actually trade creditor debt, principally the suppliers of books,” who are unsecured creditors. The company has about 150,000 orders worth approximately $12 million that have not been fulfilled, many of those for pre-orders. And customers are holding $3 million in gift cards. The story reveals that the re-financing Booktopia had announced in June was derailed by their credit card processor. Booktopia executive chairman Peter George reports that, “Booktopia’s plans were hijacked in […]